Montana State Bobcats vs Utah State Aggies Point Spread Picks

The Aggies won the Mountain West last season and are the forerunners to repeat in 2019/2020, thanks to four returning starters from the squad that went 28-7 last year. Leading the way is senior guard Sam Merrill. Merrill could have easily left for the NBA but chose to stay, to see what he and his classmates could do here in his final year. Last season, the Aggies were one of two teams to finish in the top 10 for defensive FG percentage, assists per game and rebounding margin (Michigan State). This team is not used to being ranked to start the year and they should be pumped here with the fans equally excited. They get a Montana State team that was juist 6-13 on the road last season, allowing over 80 points per game. Head coach Craig Smith's teams are 29-15 ATS in games with a total set in the 150s, including 12-3 ATS in those games at home. Back Utah State to crush in this one.

Utah State has a new head coach in Craig Smith, but the Aggies still have Sam Merrill, who led the team in scoring and minutes played in 2017-18. Utah State bolstered its frontcourt with the addition of 6-7 forward Ke'Sean Davis and 6-10 freshman Ben Fakira. The Aggies won last year's meeting 81-73 covering as a 5.5-point favorite. Montana State lost its last seven games (2-4-1 ATS ) and 13 of its last 15 games. The Bobcats will again struggle on the front line where they were undersized last season and didn't do much to improve for this season. Montana State is 1-5 ATS its last six home games and 2-5 ATS its last seven non-conference games. The oddsmakers have made the Aggies a small favorite based on a new coaching staff and new players, but they still have the big talent edge in this matchup. Take Utah State.

Montana State had to go overtime in the opener to top Omaha at home and now heads out for its first road contest. They are off a .500 campaign, going 4-10 straight up on the road. Montana State is a guard-oriented squad that can get pushed around in the low post. Montana State is 28-53 ATS when the total is 140+, plus underdogs of 3.5 to 9.5 points are 32-67 ATS when facing teams that averaged 77+ points the previous season. Utah State is off a strong defensive performance in a close loss to Weber State, 65-59. The Aggies have the Mountain West Conference's best shooting duo in the backcourt in sophomores Koby McEwen and Sam Merrill. The pair of 6-4 guards shot 43.5 percent and 45.1 percent, respectively, from beyond the arc during league play. And Utah State is 62-41 ATS at home after a non-conference game. Play Utah State.